The Daffodil Foundation was launched on the 3rd July 2015 at 6pm by John Paul Phelan TD and the staff of Daffodil Care Services Ltd.

The mission of The Daffodil Foundation is ‘supporting and promoting the wellbeing of young people in Ireland’. The Daffodil Foundation will be focusing on young people leaving care, young people living in Direct Provision and establishing a national outreach service through secondary schools for young people which will support mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Managing Director of Daffodil Care Services Pat Hayes, Social Care Ireland President and Daffodil’s Director of Services Carlos Kelly, guest speakers John Paul Phelan TD and Philip Mullan PhD addressed a full room of attendees and each contribution was met with an approving round of applause. Each speaker acknowledged the need for aftercare supports for young people leaving care to be placed on a statutory footing. Philip Mullan spoke about the lack of social support that care leavers can have and how a lack of social support means that a relatively minor obstacle can have a massive impact on a young person’s life. He informed attendees that by investing money in aftercare supports for care leavers, social difficulties experienced by them, such as homelessness, would be reduced greatly.

The topical issue of Direct Provision and the plight of people living in the system was discussed at length. Pat Hayes, Philip Mullan and John Paul Phelan TD all shared common ground on the issues of Direct Provision and aftercare supports for young people in Ireland. Pat Hayes urged the Minister for State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and his Government colleagues to accept the recommendations made in the final report of the Government working group on Direct Provision.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Pat Hayes said he was ‘delighted with the successful launch of the foundation. The Daffodil Foundation can and will directly influence the lives of young people in Ireland in a very positive way and we will continue to assess and tackle the various challenges faced by young people over time.”

Daffodil Care Services presented The Daffodil Foundation with a cheque for €30,000 while Daffodil Care Services staff donated €2,574 through their own internal fundraising efforts. The money raised will go directly towards helping young people in Ireland.